Maris Memory Tyler
by Pi Rho
Summary: What if it wasn't just Jackie Tyler who was pregnant? This is the story of Rose as she raises the Doctor's daughter. Rated T for safety reasons. Recently updated and hopefully will be worked on more now that I'm back into it.
1. Gone

I walked along the shoreline, looking for some kind of sign. The Doctor had been calling to me in my dreams and I had followed his voice to this place. I was in Norway and I was waiting for the Doctor.

In a few moments, the Doctor appeared. He was transparent; whatever he was using to come through to this parallel Earth wasn't working right.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Inside the TARDIS. There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection; I'm in orbit around a supernova." He paused for a moment and smiled. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

Goodbye. I hated that word. It seemed so final. There just had to be a way that I could get back to him.

"You look like a ghost." I said, trying to ignore the hated word the Doctor had used.

"Hold on." He said. He made an adjustment to his sonic screwdriver, pointed it to his right, and activated it. He finished and turned back to me as he faded completely into the world.

I walked forward until I was standing right in front of him. I went to touch his face as I asked, "Can I touch?"

He shook his head. "I'm still just an image. No touch."

So I wouldn't even be able to touch him until I got back to him. I wasn't going think about never being able to touch him again.

I asked, "Can't you come through properly?"

He said, "The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."

"So?" I said, disappointed.

He smiled at me. I missed his smile so much. He looked around as he said, "Where are we? Where did the gap come out."

"We're in Norway."

"Norway, right."

"We're about fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called Dårlig ulv stranden."

He interrupted me, his voice sharp. "Dalek?"

"Dårlig. It's Norwegian for bad." I smiled a little. "This place translates to 'Bad Wolf Bay'."

He smiled. I was sure he was thinking that it just figured that would be the name of the place the gap appeared.

I tried to hold back my emotions as I asked, "How long have you got?"

"About two minutes." He said quietly.

I looked away for a moment. "I can't think of what to say."

He watched me for a moment before looking back behind me. "You've still got Mr. Mickey then."

I looked back at the Doctor. "There's five of us now. Mum, Dad, Mickey, and the baby." I trailed off towards the end, gaging his reaction.

"You're not?"

The look on his face told me what I needed to know. I couldn't tell him. He was already losing me, even if it was just temporary in my mind, and I wasn't going to add the loss of his child to his pain. So I told him part of the truth.

"No, it's Mum. She's three months gone; more Tylers on the way."

I hated lying to him. I was the one three months along; Mum was only two months.

He seemed to accept what I told him. "And what about you?"

"Yeah, I'm back working in the shop."

"Oh, good for you." He almost laughed.

"Shut up. No, I'm not." The emotions were getting hard to hold back and my voice started to break. "The Torchwood on this planet's open for business. Think I know a thing or two about aliens."

He smiled again. "Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth."

I smiled back at him.

The Doctor became more serious and looked up a little. "You're dead officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing." He paused for a moment. "You're on the list of the dead."

A few tears fell down my face.

He looked back at me. "And here you are, living a life day after day. One adventure I can never have." He was beginning to have trouble keeping back his emotions as well.

I started to cry; my question had to be answered. "Am I ever gonna see you again?"

His face fell a little as he quietly said, "You can't."

So I really was never going to see him again. I started crying more. "What are you gonna do?"

He tried to laugh and failed at the attempt. "Oh, I've got the TARDIS. Same old life, last of the Time Lords."

I managed to ask, "On your own?"

He nodded at me.

"I..." I couldn't quite get the words out before a wave a sadness hit me and I turned my face away. But I was determined to tell the Doctor this before I lost him. I looked back him and tried to compose myself. "I love you."

He smiled widely. "Quite right, too." He paused before saying, "And I suppose..." He stopped speaking again.

He took a breath. "If it's my last chance to say it..."

The Doctor looked me in the eye and smiled. "Rose Tyler--"

And he was gone. Forever. I was never going to see him again. The tears finally broke through my emotional walls and I began sobbing.

That was about six months ago. And right now I was in a hospital room, holding my child. Our child. His little girl who he would never see: Maris Memory Tyler.


	2. Birth

Disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about the way hospitals in Britain are run. Please keep that in mind. Thanks!

"Rose? You awake, sweetheart?"

A voice awakened me from my sleep. The sad, empty, dreamless sleep that I'd had nearly every night since I last saw the Doctor. I opened my eyes and saw my parents walking into my hospital room.

"I'm awake, Mum. Just a little tired."

Mum laughed. "Oh, you're going to be tired. You delivered a baby yesterday." She moved around carefully and sat down in the chair next to my bed. She sighed and fanned her face with her hand. "It's very tiring carrying around a baby."

She was still pregnant. She had another month to go before my little brother or sister would be born. It seemed a little strange to me that I already had a child and my mother was having a child as well. But stranger things have happened.

Dad walked over to the window, gazing out over the city. He didn't look at me as he asked, "Is Maris alright? She's human?"

"She doesn't have two hearts, if that's what you mean." I replied.

He nodded, continuing to watch the outside.

I shook my head. I didn't really worry about someone taking my daughter and dissecting her. After all, I worked for the people who would consider doing that sort of thing. I wouldn't let anything like that happen to her.

Mum looked at me. "Ready to go home?" She put her hand over mine.

"I'm ready to go home, but I'm a little scared. I don't know how to take care of a baby, let alone a half alien baby." I sighed. Half alien. Half Time Lord. I wished that her father could be here.

"You'll be fine. I know how to take care of kids, you'll have help." Mum smiled.

A nurse walked into the room, holding a baby. She walked over to me and put the baby in my arms. The nurse said, "She's a bit fussy right now." She walked back out of the room.

I looked towards the door for a moment before I looked at Maris. She was beautiful. Her eyes were bright sparkling blue, but I assumed eventually they would change to brown. My eyes are brown and her father's eyes are brown. Maris didn't have much hair, but what was there was a dark shade of brown. I smiled down at her as she looked at me. She closed her eyes, no longer fussy. She was sleepy.

I looked over at Mum and she smiled. "She'll be fine," Mum said. "You're gonna be a great mum, Rose."

I smiled. "I hope so," I said quietly.

My medical professional walked into the room. I hated to call anyone "doctor", even if they were doctors. I only had one Doctor and he was in a different universe.

He grabbed my chart and studied it for a moment. "Well, Maris is doing well. You're doing well. Miss Tyler, you can go home tomorrow."

I nodded at him slowly, trying to not bother Maris.

He nodded back at me. "Good luck." He turned around and left the room.

Mum got up out of the chair she had been sitting in. She looked at me and said, "We're gonna leave, Rose. We'll be back tomorrow to bring you home."

I nodded and said, "See you tomorrow then."

Mum and Dad left the room and I was left alone with Maris.

I looked down at my sleeping baby. I had no idea what I was doing. I wished that the Doctor was here. He'd be so excited, that grin I knew so well on his face. I knew he had to be trying to get back to me, even though he had said I could never see him again. I wasn't going to accept that. He had to find a way back.

--

Mum and Dad came back the next day. I was put in a wheel chair and pushed out of the hospital as I held Maris in my arms. I passed Maris off to Mum and got into the car. Mum handed Maris back to me and closed the car door. Once everyone was in the car, Dad drove away from the hospital and back towards home. Maris started crying a little. She probably didn't like the movement of the car. I comforted her as well as I could, but she was still unhappy.

After the rift closed, Mum, Mickey, and I had moved into Dad's big house. I had three rooms; a bedroom, a small sitting room, and a bathroom. Before Maris was born, we had converted the sitting room to a baby room. We painted the room with pinks and purples. It was perfect for Maris.

After we got home, I carried Maris up to her room. I turned on the light and walked over to the crib. I put Maris down in the crib and covered her with a soft purple blanket. I smiled at her and sat down in the rocking chair next to the crib and turned on her intercom/baby monitor. When I knew she was asleep, I quietly got up, turned off the light, and walked to my room.

I closed the French doors between my room and hers. I walked to my intercom panel and turned it on. As my finger left the button, I started crying. I was crushed. I went to my bed and laid down, burying my face in the pillows.

The Doctor was supposed to come back before now. He should have been there when Maris was born. He should be here now. It wasn't fair. Why did we have to be separated? Was there some cosmic force that was determined to keep us apart? I sobbed into my pillows.

He had to come back. I just had to keep believing that.


	3. Question

We had a cake for Maris. I cut her a slice and put six candles on it. It had been a long six months since her birth. Mum had her baby a month after Maris was born; my little brother, Oliver James Tyler. There had been a few alien contacts, but nothing too remarkable. There had been no sign of the Doctor.

The meeting at Bad Wolf Bay had been just over a year ago. I made sure I was in Norway that day. I left Maris with my parents and I flew to Norway. I sat on the beach for the whole day, hoping to maybe see a glimpse of him. I saw nothing.

I was beginning to lose hope. Perhaps he really was never coming back. I wished he was here. He would love Maris.

My thoughts had wandered, but my family singing "Happy Birthday" to Maris brought my mind back. I joined in at the end and helped her blow out her candles. The adults had a piece of cake; the babies had baby food. It was a quiet night. Mum and Dad went to bed early, leaving Mickey to care for Oliver. After the babies were asleep, Mickey and I sat up talking.

Well, talking and crying.

"Why hasn't he come back, Mickey?" I sobbed.

He put his arms around me. "It's alright, Rose. You'll be okay."

"I miss him. I miss him so much. Maris doesn't even know her father."

"I know."

And the conversation continued like that for another hour. Maris woke up; she needed to be changed. I got up from the couch Mickey and I were sitting on and went to take care of my little girl. I walked to her room. I picked her up from her crib and set her on the changing table.

I looked at her. Her eyes had changed to brown, like I thought they would. They were his eyes, not mine. That dark piercing chocolate color. Her hair was the same dark color it had been since her birth, but it was longer now. She squirmed a little as I finished changing her. I smiled at her and tickled her feet. She laughed a little and blew a raspberry at me.

She was beautiful, my little Time Lord. I picked her up and held her close to me. I had to keep hoping the Doctor was going to come back, no matter how hopeless it seemed.

--

The next six months passed quietly and quickly. Maris changed from a mostly helpless six month old to an walking, almost talking one year old. She had already said "Mummy" and a couple other words. She'd started calling Mickey "Daddy", but I discouraged that and Maris calls him "Unca Key" now, or Uncle Mickey in proper words. She learned quickly, perhaps because of her father.

Mickey and I decided to take Maris to Cardiff. I wanted to go back to the places the Doctor and I had been while we were together. Maybe I was hoping I'd get a sign he was coming back. Maybe I wanted some closure. I knew the rift has once been opened there.

We walked to the place where the TARDIS had been. Mickey held Maris while I walked around the spot. I was looking for anything. I walked around for an hour and came up empty handed. I tried not to cry. I walked to where Mickey and Maris were sitting on a park bench. I sat down, trying to keep my emotions in check.

Mickey looked at me and I shook my head.

But what Maris said broke my heart. She looked up at me and asked, "Where Daddy?" She had figured out, probably from Oliver and the other kids she played with, that she only had a Mum. The innocent way that she asked hurt me. I looked back at Maris and said, trying not to cry, "I don't know, sweetie. He's gone."

I had to accept it now. The Doctor was not coming back. He was gone forever. Maris was never going to meet her father. Maybe she would be able to understand that someday. Maybe I would understand too.


	4. Voice

After my revelation at Cardiff, I concentrated on my life here. I worked at Torchwood, just doing my job to save the world from alien threats. I kept looking for a blue box. No matter how hard I tried, I kept looking for him. Except now, I didn't expect him to come back. When there were no reports of a blue box, I didn't cry anymore.

The years passed more quickly after I gave up on the Doctor's return. My little Maris grew up from a one year old to an intelligent four year old. Maris had started school when she turned three and had progress to the next stage of her education. She had a few friends.

She kept her intelligence hidden at school, but she never hid it at home. She was reading books that an average seven or eight year old would be able to read. She could do simple multiplication and division. I was amazed at her abilities. My parents made sure that Maris would have the money to go to university when she grew up.

I celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday. I settled into a semi-normal life. I never forgot the Doctor, partially because I never could and partially because I had living proof he existed. I loved Maris with everything I had.

I did what he had asked me to do when he sent me home the first time. I was living the fantastic life he would have wanted me to live.

--

Right after Maris' fifth birthday, I decided that I would spend a week working from home. It was summer and Maris was out of school. And then everything, absolutely everything changed.

I had finished my work early for that day. Mickey and Oliver were going to a local park. Mickey had become Oliver's best friend. They wanted Maris and I to come with them. The weather was nice; no rain, but not a lot of sun either.

I sat on a bench, watching Maris and Oliver play with Mickey. After a while, I stood up.

"Mickey, I'm going to walk around a bit," I shouted to him.

"Alright," he shouted back.

I walked along the paths, through the trees. I found another park bench and sat down again. I wasn't tired, I just wanted to think alone.

I had given up on the Doctor. He wasn't coming back. I missed him, but the pain was more a dull ache now than a sharp pierce to my heart every time I thought of him. I sat there with my eyes closed. I thought I fell asleep because I heard something I hadn't heard for years.

It was quiet, just a whisper. But it was his voice.

"Rose."

My eyes snapped open. I looked around wildly, hoping to see him. I saw nothing.

Disappointment set in. I had started imagining his voice. But it was so clear, could I really have imagined it?

And then it happened again, louder this time. "Rose."

I knew I wasn't imagining it. I couldn't be. I had to find him.

"Doctor, I'm here," I said, seemingly to the air.

The voice came back. "Turn around," he said.

So I did.


	5. Found

There was no one there.

I turned all around, but there was nothing.

I sat down, almost crying. "Doctor..." I whispered.

There was no answer.

That pushed me over the edge. I began sobbing.

He had been there. Maybe he could come back. I sat on the park bench and cried until Mickey, Oliver, and Maris came to find me.

"What happened?" Mickey asked with concern.

"I heard him." I managed to get out. "I heard the Doctor."

Maris climbed up on the park bench and put her hand on my shoulder. "Who's the Doctor, Mummy?" she asked quietly.

I looked at her and smiled through the tears. "He's a man that I used to travel with. We went so many places together." I trailed off at the end, but continued after a short pause. "But before you were born, he went away."

"Why?"

"He left to save the world from monsters."

"What monsters?" Maris asked, curious.

There was so much of her father in her. "I'll tell you later, sweetie."

Mickey was still worried. "But if you heard him, does that means he's coming back?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. He said 'Turn around.' That's all." I got up and pointed behind me. "But when I turned, nothing was there."

"Maybe you were hearing things," Mickey said.

"I don't know," I replied. "I just don't know."

We all walked back home. I couldn't get the Doctor's voice out of my head. I kept hearing him calling my name. I couldn't get him out of my head. Maris kept asking me questions, but I didn't answer them. I went to bed right after dinner. But the Doctor even invaded my dreams.

In my sleep, he kept calling to me. "Rose."

"Where are you?" I said.

"Turn around," he replied.

"I did," I said. "I turned around, but you weren't there."

"Rose, remember and turn around," he said.

And then I woke up.

--

A few days later, at the end of my week working from home, it hit me. I knew what the Doctor meant. He wanted me to remember and turn around. He meant for me to go back to Norway. That's where I last saw him. That had to be the answer.

I rushed down the stairs, calling out, "I've got to go to Norway! He's in Norway!"

Maris and Oliver looked a little scared when I got to their playroom. I looked at Maris. "Sweetheart, Mum has to go away for a few days. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Mickey that I've found the Doctor. He'll know what it means.

Oliver looked up at me. "You gonna be okay, Rosie?" I nodded to him.

Maris looked up at me and said, "I hope you find your friend."

"Me too, Maris. I'll be back. Make sure you tell Mickey what I said."

I ran back up the stairs to my room and packed up a few things. I got on the Internet and bought a ticket for the next plane to Norway, which left in about five hours.

I printed my confirmation of purchase, ran out to my car, and drove as fast as I could to the airport.

--

Waiting in the airport had been excruciating. I felt like time was slipping away, like my chances of finding the Doctor were dropping every second.

We finally landed in Norway. I rented a car and started driving. I didn't care how long it took, I was getting back to Bad Wolf Bay as fast as I could.

I arrived very late at night, or very early in the morning. It was about four. The moon was beginning to get low in the sky and its' light was reflected in the water.

I put my car in park, turned it off, and jumped out. I started to shout, "Doctor! Doctor, I'm here!

I shouted for a few minutes with no answer. I sat down on a rock, sobbing. Maybe it was all in my head. An imaginary voice. Maybe I should just go home.

As I walked back to my car, there was a noise. A very familiar noise that I hadn't heard for over five years. The sound of the TARDIS' engine.

About twenty yards from me, I started to see that wonderful blue light. Then the strange blue box started to appear. When the engine finally stopped, that wooden door opened. I saw a hand. His hand.

He walked out of the TARDIS. He saw me and he looked was as shocked and excited as I was.

I said quietly, "Doctor..."

He started laughing, that wonderful, excited, overjoyed laugh. "Rose!" He started running towards me. I started running towards him.

I was afraid I was imagining him, but as we came together, as his arms wrapped around me, I knew it was real. "I've missed you, Doctor," I whispered.

"Rose, I've missed you too. And I want to say something that I haven't been able to say for a very long time. Rose Tyler, I love you," the Doctor whispered back.

We stood there for a while, holding each other. After he let go of me, I just wanted him to hold me again. He looked at me, as if he still couldn't believe we were together again.

"How long has it been?" he asked me. "Since I disappeared?"

"Over five years," I replied.

He didn't say anything, just sighed, like he was wishing it hadn't been so long.

"How come you didn't come back to when you left?"

The Doctor put his hand behind his head. "Because I can't always come out exactly when I want to."

We didn't talk for a short time. "How long has it been for you?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"How did you get here?"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a large rock. He sat down and I sat down next to him. Still holding my hand, he started to explain. "Do you remember when we were stranded on the impossible planet? With the black hole?"

I nodded.

"Well, something you said about black holes leading to other universes got me thinking. What if there was a black hole that led to the universe you were in? I spent a long time trying to change the extrapolater to be enough of a shield to protect the TARDIS from the forces of a black hole."

He sighed "That time actually went the fastest, even though it felt like forever at the time. Going through black hole after black hole, trying to find the one you were in. I was starting to believe I would never find your universe. But I couldn't give up." He looked at me. "I was about ready to give up. I found a black hole I hadn't been in yet. I went through and went to Earth. Did you know that not every universe even has an Earth?" He smiled, then got back to his explanation. "Anyway, when I got there, it was 1634; I knew you weren't there. So I went to Norway, to Bad Wolf Bay. I tried to travel to when we left each other, but I was off a little. Five years off apparently."

He smiled. "I sent you a message and I waited for you to come to Norway. I would have come to where you live, but I didn't want to show up there, if you'd..."

"If I'd what?" I asked.

"If you'd married," he said quietly, bracing himself for the answer.

"No, I didn't get married."

"Mickey?"

"No, not even Mickey. He still lives with us though."

"Well," the Doctor said, getting up off the rock. "Let's get to your house. I want to see what you've been doing while I was gone."

I didn't answer, but I followed him to the TARDIS and went inside.

--

We landed on the edge of the yard. I got out of the TARDIS first, hoping to brace him for my surprise. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell him about Maris.

Mum and Dad were out; their car was gone. Mickey was playing outside with Maris and Oliver. The Doctor smiled, "So you're an aunt to twins? What are their names?"

I was about to explain that I was just an aunt to one when the children noticed me.

Oliver called out, "Rosie, you're back!" He got up and started running towards me.

And then Maris said the only thing I didn't want her to say.

Maris saw me and started running towards me. "Mummy, you're back!" she called out to me.


	6. Discovery

It took a few seconds, but the look on his face was intense shock. "What?"

I nodded, hoping he wouldn't be angry. Maris and Oliver noticed his tone of voice and stopped running.

He moved between me and the children. "She called you 'Mummy'," he whispered. He grabbed both my shoulders. "Whose child is she? Mickey's? Some random man? Who, Rose?" He was angry. Angry and hurt. "Please." He spoke in a whisper.

"She's yours, Doctor. She's your daughter," I said quietly.

I didn't think it was possible for him to look more angry, hurt, and shocked, but I was wrong. "That's not possible. She can't possibly be..." The Doctor let go of my arms and turned around, looking at the children. He looked at Maris for a while and turned back to me. "What's her name?"

"Maris," I said.

He kept his eyes on me and said, "Maris, come here."

I peeked around the Doctor to get a look at Maris. She wasn't scared and she did as the Doctor said. However, she did make an effort to avoid the Doctor and came to stand behind me. She peeked out at the Doctor from behind my leg.

She looked up at me. "He's my Daddy?"

I locked eyes with the Doctor before I answered. "Yes, Maris. This is the Doctor, your father."

His mouth dropped open. "Are you sure she's mine?"

I laughed, a defeated laugh. "I knew I was pregnant about two weeks after we were separated the first time."

"So... on the beach... you knew?" He said quietly.

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

I looked down at Maris. "Go on, go play with Oliver."

As she walked away, the Doctor asked, "Is he your mother's child?"

I nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?"

I started to cry. "I didn't want to add to your pain any more. You were losing me. I didn't want to add losing a child to that."

He pulled me into his arms. "It's not possible. The physiology doesn't match up. There's too many differences between humans and Time Lords. It's not possible."

I looked at him. "Are you angry?"

He shook his head. "Not angry. Just a little surprised and intrigued." He let go of me and turned to look at Maris. "Can she come in the TARDIS? I'd like to run some tests."

I would have screamed and shouted had anyone else been asking. But I knew the Doctor. He wasn't going to hurt Maris. "Yeah." I walked over to my little girl and picked her up.

"Now, Maris, sweetie, you see that blue box?" I started walking towards it; the Doctor had already gone inside.

"Yes, Mummy."

"That's the Doctor's ship. It's called the TARDIS. We're going to go inside, okay?"

She looked at the ship, then looked back at me. "Okay."

I smiled at her. "I have to tell you something you may not understand." I opened the door and walked inside. "Maris, it's bigger on the inside."

Her eyes got wider as she took in the interior of the TARDIS. She looked around for a minute. Then she turned back to me and said, "Yes, Mummy. It's bigger on the inside."

I was a little surprised she wasn't scared. "Are you scared?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really."

I put her down. "Don't touch anything."

She nodded and began walking around the TARDIS controls, studying each piece carefully.

The Doctor walked up behind me. "Rose, I need a sample of her blood."

Maris kept her eyes on the controls. "Is it going to hurt?" she asked.

The Doctor held up a vial. "It might hurt a little."

She stopped looking at the controls and turned to look at the Doctor. "Alright. Go ahead."

The Doctor grabbed my hand and asked, "Go ahead?"

"Yes," I replied.

He let go of my hand and motioned for Maris to come closer. She skipped over and held out her arm. The Doctor sat down and held the vial up to Maris' arm. She winced as her blood started filling the vial. After about thirty seconds, the Doctor pulled the vial away. He pulled out a bandage and fixed up the little girl's arm.

He stood back up. "The tests are going to take a little while. I'll set them up and we can go outside."


	7. Explanation

We walked out of the TARDIS. Mum and Dad were back from where ever they had gone. Dad was comforting Oliver; apparently my little brother did not like the fact that both Maris and I had disappeared into a blue box.

Mum started walking over to us. She looked more than angry. She got right up in the Doctor's face. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she shouted at him. "You've been gone five years! You leave poor Rose standing alone on a beach, pregnant and alone! How could you!"

The Doctor closed his eyes and quietly said, "Nice to see you too, Jackie."

"She was pregnant with your child! Your little girl! How could you leave her!"

The Doctor took a step back and put his hands up in front of his chest, palms toward Jackie. "I didn't know she was pregnant! Jackie, Rose didn't tell me! I didn't know about Maris until about a half hour ago!"

Jackie looked at the Doctor, her mouth open, like she didn't know what to say. She turned her head toward me. "You didn't even tell him? Why didn't you tell him!"

I sighed. "Mum, I didn't want to hurt him."

Jackie shook her head. "I don't know what to do with you." She turned and walked away. Mickey, Dad, and Oliver had already gone inside. Jackie called from the front porch, "Well, come inside. No reason to be standing around outside."

The Doctor looked at me. "You didn't tell her that you didn't tell me?"

I sighed again. "Come on, Maris. Let's go inside." I took my little girl's hand and the Doctor, even though he hesitated, took her other hand. We all walked to the house.

-_-_-_-_-_-

I went up to my room. The Doctor followed me, but I closed the door in his face and locked it. I was angry. Why would I lie to him? I couldn't believe that he thought that about me!

"Rose, please open the door," he quietly said.

"No," I replied.

"I have a sonic screwdriver and I will unlock the door if I have to."

I sighed, got up and opened the door. He pushed his way inside and sat down on my bed.

"Rose, what's going on?"

I sat down on the floor, my back to the door. "She's your daughter and you just want to run tests to be sure. Don't you trust me?"

The Doctor smiled at me. "Rose, I'm testing Maris to see what the differences between her blood and typical human blood are. I'm not doubting you. If you say she's mine, then she is."

He put his right hand behind his head as he leaned on the bedpost. "What I want to know is how this whole thing happened because I know that you and I never..." He trailed off. I knew what he was talking about.

I stood up and walked over to the bed. I sat down next to the Doctor and leaned on his shoulder. "I can't explain it either. I just know that when I look at her, I see your eyes and your personality."

He looked at me and put his arms around me. "I know."

-_-_-_-_-_-

We stayed like that for a while, just holding each other. Neither of us had any idea what was going on. Even though I had raised Maris for five years, I honestly didn't know how I could have had the Doctor's daughter. We had never done anything like that. I'd only kissed him once, and I was possessed by Cassandra when it happened. Not to say I didn't enjoy it, but still.

I guess I fell asleep after a while because when I woke up the next morning, I was under my blankets, still wearing the clothes I had worn the previous day. The Doctor was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, staring at the ceiling. He noticed me making noises and his focus went to me.

"Good morning," he quietly said.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About seven hours. It's still dark outside." He stood up and stretched. "The TARDIS is finished with the analysis, if you'd like to find out what's going on."

I looked at him.

He smiled. "I haven't seen them either. Go ahead and get dressed. I'll wait for you in the hall."

-_-_-_-_-_-

We walked into the TARDIS. A blue light was flashing on the console, one I'd never seen before. Or maybe I had just forgotten. It had been so long since I had been in the TARDIS everything seemed new.

The Doctor looked at the readout of the screen above the blue flashing light. He got that really confused look he gets when something doesn't make sense. "But how?"

"What is it, Doctor?"

He looked up at me. "Maris has a little bit of the Time Vortex inside her blood cells. Never seen that before." He thought for a moment, his gaze moving toward the ceiling.

"Oh! The Time Vortex! That's it!"

He looked back at me. "Rose, you remember when the Daleks were on Satellite 5 and you came back in the TARDIS to save me? Before I regenerated?"

I nodded.

"Well, apparently, when you had the Vortex inside of you, there was a link between us. I'm connected to the TARDIS which is connected to the Vortex which was connected to you. I took the Vortex out of you, but not before..."

I realized what had happened.

The Doctor sighed. "The TARDIS took my DNA, knowing I am the last of the Time Lords, and put it inside of you. It did it out of survival of my species."

"But she's still your daughter, right?"

"Oh yes, she is definitely my daughter. There's no doubt."

"But there was almost a year between when you regenerated and we were separated. And I was still pregnant for six months after that."

"The Time Vortex and the DNA had to assimilate itself to the human reproductive cycle. Plus, the gestational period of a Time Lord is different than a that of a human; ours is eleven months, not nine."

I looked at him. "So eleven months I'm pregnant–"

"Ten, probably. Differences in the physiological makeup would have required a longer human gestational period, but a shorter one for a Time Lord."

"Okay, ten months, then. So the other seven or so months, my body was adjusting?"

"From what I can tell. But I don't think we'll be able to find out for certain. Wouldn't be in your body anymore."

I nodded and kept quiet for a few moments. "So Maris is part Time Lord?"

"It would seem so," the Doctor answered.

I was just about to hug him when someone knocked on the TARDIS door.


End file.
